Lifesaver
by nychnymph
Summary: Horseback Riding AU - Annabeth Chase is just a small town girl with horses and schoolwork on her mind, never having thought once about boys. Percy Jackson is just a small town boy with too much troubles to bare and one chance encounter changes it for the both of them.


**Tiny little drabble that I kind of love a lot! Not sure if I should continue this, but I'm really feelin' it! C':  
>Don't worry however: <em>A Little Party Never Killed Nobody <em>and _Bow to Your Queen _will get updates as soon as possible!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson but I do own the plot to this fanfiction!**

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><p><em>Lifesaver<em>

Riding was her only love in life. The familiar pressure of leather from the saddle, the fast-paced turns and curves, the close compact touch of her horse's course hair; all the little things that counted when she smoked competitions and practiced like every second counted. Sixteen and on the fast track that was professional riding, she had barely enough time to pay much attention to anything else besides horses and school work. That was the deal too; in order to continue riding she promised her dad that schoolwork would be essentially come first. And it did in most cases.

The only high school in the small East Coast town she lived in was a mile from her beloved ranch and every day after school she would walk it. On some days she had her dad's Harvester Scout and some days she'd take the school bus, but most days she didn't. Her friends at school were mostly other kids from Half-Blood Ranch too, since the town was very much a horse-riding town. The few in-town competitions had a bigger crowd that the football games sometimes. Annabeth Chase was just another name in the ever-growing pot of blue ribbon riders.

It was afterschool on a Thursday when Annabeth was, for the first time in her life, distracted by a boy. She had spent an hour grooming Wisdom, her cream Arabian mare, and laughing and chatting with Piper and Hazel. Hazel's Friesian was out at the vets so she was stuck on paperwork and fixing leads so Piper and Annabeth had to practice jumping without her. Piper's Rocky Mountain horse Katoptris was practically rearing to go, and kept nudging his head against Wisdom, as they waited to use the field. Annabeth tied her golden hair and chatted easily with Piper as they leaned against the fence in their riding boots. That day it was so hot that Annabeth kept her riding helmet between her knees and aired out her simple white t-shirt by tying it in a little knot at the small of her back.

"You look cute today!" Piper examined Annabeth's riding pants, "You have to show me where you got these. Camel looks so good on you so maybe I should get an olive one?" Annabeth looked down at her own pants and opened her mouth to respond when a sharp whistle made them both look up. From the side of the fence edged by road and trees, a gang of boys had been passing by in running clothes.

Annabeth squinted and could make out that the one raising his arm and waving wildly was Jason Grace. "Is that Jason?" She teased and nudged Piper next to her, who was turning a soft red. A trio of boys were leaning against the fence now, Jason obviously trying to catch Piper's attention. "Oh my god. Come with me! Annabeth please!" Piper grabbed her arm and tugged. Annabeth's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at her best friend then back to the boys. She never really socialized with boys much at school…

"Fine." She grumbled, not even sure why she said yes. Piper squealed and dragged her through the field to the fence. Helmet bouncing on her hip and stepping carefully through the grass, Annabeth trudged after her friend. Even in the heat, Piper's braid was straight and shiny and Annabeth's hair just decided to get even curlier as the temperature rose. "Hi!" Piper cheerily leaned over the fence to hug Jason. Piper chatted so cheerfully with the three boys that Annabeth was a little apprehensive to but in. She kept her eyes on the grass or looking up over the grassy field until she had the odd sense of eyes on her. She looked up and immediately met the eyes of the boy on the far left.

He was cute, taller than her and she could've sworn she'd seen him at her neighborhood's "block" party (which had turned out to be more of a town block party since there were only maybe four neighborhoods). She almost stumbled at his vibrant eyes and he instantly looked away when she caught him looking at her, his cheeks tinting and his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "Oh! Right, sorry," Piper laughed and grabbed Annabeth's upper arm to pull her closer, "This is Annabeth Chase, my best friend."

Jason's face lit up. "Oh hey, you know my sister right? Cool, nice to meet you. This is Nico di Angelo," he patted the scrawny pale kid in the middle, "and Percy Jackson." The boy who had stared at her sheepishly grinned at them, and she smiled just a tad bit back. "You're…like, really into riding right?" Percy said slowly, "My friend Hazel talks about you a lot. You're almost as good as she is, she said."

That was a compliment that warmed her to her very core. Hazel was a beyond amazing rider, and she'd have to hug/smack her for talking about her to a cute boy without telling her. "Yeah she is!" Piper cut in and snorted, rolling her eyes, "She barely goes anywhere but the stables. I've had to physically drag her from her bed to go shopping with me."

Annabeth frowned, turning to her friend. "Hey," She started, "Don't…" But she trailed off as Percy leaned his forearms on the fence and grinned at the two of them. "Come watch the football game tomorrow," He glanced at Jason, "If you aren't busy." Jason lit up, and Piper did too, and the two of them chatted about meeting up while Annabeth stared incredulously at Percy.

He met her eyes with a glimmer of smile before dragging off Jason and Nico so they could catch up with the rest of their friends. Long after they had jogged off, Annabeth still was more than confused at Percy and his weird antics.

.

It was just before five in the morning when Annabeth slipped on her riding boots again. She slid out of the front door of her house in the still dark air as quickly and quietly as possible, in just an easy gray sweater and bright yellow and teal sport shorts. Annabeth was exhausted but the day awaited her. She walked down the side roads, between houses and over fences until she reached the pasture near the end of the block.

She heaved herself over the fence and toppled into the waist-length gross with a less than graceful grunt, but she recovered her footing quickly and, with bridle and lead in hand, went out to the middle of the field. Clicking her tongue and shuffling her boots, she called out softly for Wisdom, squinting to see the chestnut horse amongst the edge of the trees, where she often liked to graze.

Instead of finding the pretty mare, a casting shadow of navy caught her eye. Off to the right of the field was a trunk, low and parked in the middle of the yellow-green grass. In the ever-lightening grey sky, it looked serene but still blunt in seamless field. Frowning, Annabeth strode over. Hopefully it wasn't those drunken college students from the town over trying to play a prank again. She remembered all the toilet paper she had to clean from the ranch's farmhouse because of those idiots. But instead, the bed of the trunk was open and a figure was curled up on the iron with a thick red blanket, gently rising and falling to the rhythmic filling of oxygen in the lungs.

Annabeth froze and looked around. There was no one around to hear her scream if this person was dangerous, so hopefully those karate lessons she took in 3rd grade would kick back in if anything happened. She threw the bridle and leash over the side of the trunk lightly and leaned up on the rim of the trunk's wheel to peek over the lump of red fabric. It took everything in her not to scream, and in the end she just tumbled back and made a large clanging sound by slamming her heel into the wheel rim on the way door.

The boy sat up instantly, black hair extremely messy and eyes wide as they locked on her as she sat on her butt in the dirt. For more than a minute, Percy and Annabeth stared at each other. Her breathing felt crushed and she was slightly shaking but she gulped back any form of exclamation at finding him sleeping and instead asked, "Can I join you?" He hesitated but nodded, so Annabeth stood up, brushed her athletic shorts off and crawled into the bed of the trunk.

He pulled the blanket tighter around him, but she was pretty sure he wasn't wearing pajamas. Percy had faint bags around his eyes and she shifted to get comfortable against the side of the trunk bed. It was quiet again and she rubbed up and down her bare legs as little goose bumps popped up. He cleared his throat but burrowed deeper into the blanket instead of saying anything, so she kept her eyes on the field and the soft sunlight peeking up amongst the horizon. The dewy air was wet and misty and the grass glowed with a hazy sense of wonder. Her bones and skin were chilly but the mist clung to her eyelashes and she looked at Percy slowly, to find he was staring at her again.

"Why are you out here?" She asked softly, aware all too much of the dark bruise just under his jawline. He unfolded the blanket from around himself and loosely draped his forearms on his knees. "My stepdad kicked me out," He muttered, rubbing his neck, "Because I called him a douche in front of his poker friends after he bossed around my mom." He looked down between his knees and kicked his toe against the ridges in the bed.

Annabeth frowned and chewed her bottom lip. "So you took…his truck and slept out here?" She guessed softly, taking the sharp tense shift of his shoulders for a 'yes'. They fell into a soft silence again and Annabeth blinked a couple times before glancing at him again. She wanted to offer him a place to stay or something, but they barely knew each other and her father… Instead she just moved closer to him. "Hey," She said softly, "If we get out of here, no one will know how Mr. Asshole's trunk got here. You can take a shower at my place if you want but…"

Midst her rambling, he had looked up and grinned widely at her, eyes glittering in the mist, so she finished slowly. "But…we have to be quiet." She bit her lip to stop a matching smile from appearing on her face. His smile was contagious and he brushed his fingers through his shaggy black hair. "Thanks." He breathed, "You're a lifesaver." She merely shrugged and hopped out of the trunk bed, grabbing her bridle and lead. The heavy footfalls behind her told her that he followed and she turned to look at him. "I've never been called that before." She joked but he just gave her another big grin.

"Well you are to me." He mumbled and Annabeth couldn't help but feel like there was a deeper meaning behind it. So when together they walked through the misty grassy field, she didn't pull back when his fingers weaved in and held hers and instead let herself be distracted by the flutter of butterflies in the pit of her stomach, feeling as if he could be her lifesaver as well.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Be sure to review!<strong>


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